Teachers to get details on evaluation system

Published: Monday, January 14, 2013 at 8:50 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, January 14, 2013 at 8:50 p.m.

Louisiana's controversial new teacher-evaluation tool could become more accessible to teachers, state education officials announced Monday.

The COMPASS “value-added” system, implemented this year at the behest of the Legislature, uses a mix of principal evaluations and student-test scores to measure how well a teacher is doing his or her job.

Under new laws passed last year, a teacher's COMPASS score can influence his or her pay, tenure and job security.

Many teachers have complained that they didn't understand the complex formulas that make up a COMPASS score.

State Education Superintendent John White said Monday's proposed changes are meant to help clear up that confusion.

“What we're doing is clarifying what the system means for teachers and maximizing the feedback they can get from their principals,” White said.

White said the biggest change is detailing what is expected of teachers.

At the start of each school year, teachers will get a detailed report of their class, with the test score each individual student is expected to make by the end of the year.

That score is based on each student's previous scores, adjusted for factors like family income, disabilities and honors classes.

At the end of the year, teachers will get the same report, showing each student's expected score, the score they earned, and how each score affected the teacher's overall score.

Originally, the COMPASS system didn't include a starting report, and the end-of-year report was less detailed.

“We heard many teachers tell us that they wanted to see the data themselves, so they knew exactly what was expected of them,” White said. “This does that for them.”

White said the changes will add guidance for teachers on how to earn the best COMPASS score.

The Department of Education will provide videos over the summer breaking down each part of the COMPASS system for teachers and showing how to meet those goals.

The principal-evaluation systems are also likely to change. Instead of one “formal” review and one “informal” review for each teacher, the state is allowing principals flexibility to give high-scoring teachers one review, as long as they use that time to give additional reviews to low-scoring teachers.

Finally, the changes will allow principals some leeway to tweak scores for teachers who earn the most common “effective” score.

There are four scores a teacher can earn under Compass, from a “one” — ineffective — to a “four” — highly effective. White said the vast majority of teachers earn either a “two” or a “three,” both of which are “effective.”

The proposed changes will allow principals to nudge teachers' scores from a two to a three or a three to a two. For example, if a teacher's students earn scores to make a three, but a principal sees problems in the statistics, the principal can lower the score to a two and give the teacher detailed reasons why.

White said the principal can't change a teacher's overall score.

“This is just a method for principals to give teachers more feedback,” White said.

Before these changes take effect, they must be approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Lottie Beebe, the BESE member who represents Houma-Thibodaux, said it's likely the board would pass the proposal, but she would likely vote against it.

A frequent critic of the COMPASS program, Beebe said she's pleased to see White's team listening to teachers' complaints.

“I'm glad to see them recognizing flaws in the system and listening to the teachers who are in the classroom and trying to fix things,” Beebe said.

Still, Beebe said she still has concerns about the system. She's still not convinced the COMPASS system accounts for factors outside a teacher's control, like parental involvement or student discipline. She worries that principals and staff members aren't trained well enough to set the right test-score targets.

“The fact that they're going in and making these changes is almost an admission that the instrument is flawed,” Beebe said. “We moved way too fast on this. These are problems that we should have worked out before we started implementing COMPASS.”

Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.

<p>Louisiana's controversial new teacher-evaluation tool could become more accessible to teachers, state education officials announced Monday.</p><p>The COMPASS “value-added” system, implemented this year at the behest of the Legislature, uses a mix of principal evaluations and student-test scores to measure how well a teacher is doing his or her job.</p><p>Under new laws passed last year, a teacher's COMPASS score can influence his or her pay, tenure and job security. </p><p>Many teachers have complained that they didn't understand the complex formulas that make up a COMPASS score. </p><p>State Education Superintendent John White said Monday's proposed changes are meant to help clear up that confusion.</p><p>“What we're doing is clarifying what the system means for teachers and maximizing the feedback they can get from their principals,” White said. </p><p>White said the biggest change is detailing what is expected of teachers. </p><p>At the start of each school year, teachers will get a detailed report of their class, with the test score each individual student is expected to make by the end of the year. </p><p>That score is based on each student's previous scores, adjusted for factors like family income, disabilities and honors classes.</p><p>At the end of the year, teachers will get the same report, showing each student's expected score, the score they earned, and how each score affected the teacher's overall score.</p><p>Originally, the COMPASS system didn't include a starting report, and the end-of-year report was less detailed. </p><p>“We heard many teachers tell us that they wanted to see the data themselves, so they knew exactly what was expected of them,” White said. “This does that for them.”</p><p>White said the changes will add guidance for teachers on how to earn the best COMPASS score. </p><p>The Department of Education will provide videos over the summer breaking down each part of the COMPASS system for teachers and showing how to meet those goals. </p><p>The principal-evaluation systems are also likely to change. Instead of one “formal” review and one “informal” review for each teacher, the state is allowing principals flexibility to give high-scoring teachers one review, as long as they use that time to give additional reviews to low-scoring teachers.</p><p>Finally, the changes will allow principals some leeway to tweak scores for teachers who earn the most common “effective” score.</p><p>There are four scores a teacher can earn under Compass, from a “one” — ineffective — to a “four” — highly effective. White said the vast majority of teachers earn either a “two” or a “three,” both of which are “effective.”</p><p>The proposed changes will allow principals to nudge teachers' scores from a two to a three or a three to a two. For example, if a teacher's students earn scores to make a three, but a principal sees problems in the statistics, the principal can lower the score to a two and give the teacher detailed reasons why. </p><p>White said the principal can't change a teacher's overall score.</p><p>“This is just a method for principals to give teachers more feedback,” White said. </p><p>Before these changes take effect, they must be approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. </p><p>Lottie Beebe, the BESE member who represents Houma-Thibodaux, said it's likely the board would pass the proposal, but she would likely vote against it.</p><p>A frequent critic of the COMPASS program, Beebe said she's pleased to see White's team listening to teachers' complaints.</p><p>“I'm glad to see them recognizing flaws in the system and listening to the teachers who are in the classroom and trying to fix things,” Beebe said. </p><p>Still, Beebe said she still has concerns about the system. She's still not convinced the COMPASS system accounts for factors outside a teacher's control, like parental involvement or student discipline. She worries that principals and staff members aren't trained well enough to set the right test-score targets.</p><p>“The fact that they're going in and making these changes is almost an admission that the instrument is flawed,” Beebe said. “We moved way too fast on this. These are problems that we should have worked out before we started implementing COMPASS.”</p><p>Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.</p>